TER: Climate Change

Climate disruption is here, and The Environment Report wants you to know what it means for Michigan. What does a warmer climate mean for the state’s natural resources and industries? Will we see new insects or diseases because of climate change? How does our fresh water factor into a warming planet, and what can we do to prepare for that? What kind of position is Michigan is to mitigate warming? Is our infrastructure ready for climate change? What can we – individuals, corporations, and government – do about all this?

We’ll tackle these questions and more in more in the coming months, starting with a series of digital and on-air stories and interviews August 12-16.

Nearly 22 million pounds of plastic end up in the Great Lakes each year. University of Michigan student and West Michigan native Jackson Riegler is stepping up to face that challenge, and he's doing it through fashion.

Riegler is the founder of Oshki, a company that uses plastic waste to create sustainable apparel.

Climate change is affecting the world in a lot of ways. The planet is warming, more rain is falling. There are colder winters, and warmer summers. And all of this is having a profound effect on agriculture.

When President Donald Trump announced in 2017 that the United States would pull out of the Paris Agreement, cities across the country declared that they would uphold the goals of the accord on their own.

Two years later, a handful of Michigan cities have plans in place to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but many more are just in the process of putting a plan together. Which is good, says Jenna Jorns, because cities are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Jorns is the program manager for the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center.

Public opinion surveys show older Americans are less concerned about climate change than young people. But some experts say older Americans may be an untapped resource when it comes to climate activism.

Listen

Listening...

/

4:35

Older folks in Mt. Pleasant are using polite persuasion to urge their friends and neighbors to fight climate change.

Each year in Michigan, billions of gallons of raw or partially treated sewage end up in the state's rivers and eventually in the Great Lakes. That pollution can make people sick. There are two causes. One is poor sewer systems. The second is heavy rains.

Today on Stateside, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson comments on how an increase in the number of absentee ballots could impact elections without a change in state law. Plus, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is building a manufacturing center in an effort to diversify the tribe's economic ventures.

All this week, Michigan Radio's Environment Report will be focusing on climate change and how it's already affecting us in the state of Michigan, and what's expected to change in the future. It's a huge crisis we face now — and that generations to come will face — and it will affect every aspect of our lives, from what we eat, to how we travel, to how we live inside our homes.

Climate change is likely to bring more extreme rainfall and flooding to Michigan. So, flood risk in the next 100 years will probably look very different than in the last. But, much of our infrastructure, like culverts, bridges, and storm drains, is still being designed and built based on the floods of the past.